Diagnostic Tests, Procedures, Equipment

Pediatric Inpatient Video EEG Monitoring

HFFY#5481

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Pediatric Inpatient Video EEG Monitoring
Name: _______________________________________________ MR #: ___________________
Appointment Date: ______________________________________________________________
Appointment Times: ___________________
Park in the American Family Children’s Hospital Ramp; Take the elevators to the 1st floor.
Check in at the Guest Depot.
What is video EEG monitoring?
Video EEG monitoring helps us to find out
if your child is having seizures. It also helps
us to find out the kind of seizures your child
is having. During the test a camera records
your child’s behavior. This is paired with an
EEG reading of your child’s brain wave
activity. Sometimes movements may look
like seizures, but they are not. If your child
has seizures, this test helps us learn how
strong the seizures are and how often they
happen.
It also helps decide if your child is having
silent seizures. These are seizures that do
not have any physical signs, but changes can
be seen on the EEG.
This test takes place in the hospital and can
take between 1–5 days to finish.
Getting ready
Your child will be admitted to the hospital
the day of the test.
Insurance
Please call your insurance company to find
out if this test and the hospital stay are
covered. Some insurance companies do not
cover it. Others need a referral from your
primary doctor first. If you need a referral,
ask your doctor for the referral letter right
away. It often takes insurance companies 2-
4 weeks to decide on coverage. They will
let you know what they decide. Feel free to
contact the Admissions Information desk at
(608) 263-8770 if you have any questions or
need help.
Before the test
ξ Talk to your child about what to
expect ahead of time. Encourage
questions.
ξ Bring a favorite pillow, blanket,
stuffed animal, game, or toy to
comfort your child. We have games
and toys, but it helps your child if
you bring familiar items such as
schoolwork, books, games, movies,
hobbies or art supplies.
ξ Bring clothes to wear during the day
and pajamas for night.
ξ Your child’s shirt or blouse should
button or zip in the front. No T-
shirts please. Tops that pull over the
head cannot fit around the attached
EEG wires.
ξ Wash your child’s hair the night
before the test.
ξ If your child's hair can be braided or
pulled into pigtails or ponytail,
please do so.
ξ In order to get the best test results,
your child’s medicine dose may be
decreased. If your child’s doctor
wants to decrease the medicine dose,
it will be done during the hospital
stay. Most often, medicine doses are
not decreased before your child
comes to the hospital unless your
doctor or nurse has told you to do so.
ξ *We may have your child go without
sleep in order to start a seizure. This
would be done during the hospital
stay rather than at home.
Should I plan to stay with my child?
We require that one parent or caregiver over
the age of eighteen years stay with your
child overnight and help us with the test. If a
parent or caregiver cannot be present, we
cannot do the test. We need your help to
distract and comfort your child to do the best
quality test. Only one parent or caregiver
can stay in the hospital room. Other
children can’t stay in the hospital room
overnight. Please arrange for other family
members to sleep at home or with relatives
or friends for the night. You may be asked
to wake up a few times during the night.
Sometimes parents or caregivers tell us they
are tired the day after the test. Please plan
ahead if you have a long drive home the
next day.
The day of the test
Come early and check-in at the Guest Depot
½ hour before the test is scheduled to begin.
Next check in at the Security office and then
we will take you to your room.
ξ Getting Ready
Wires will be secured to your child’s
head. Your child’s head is wrapped
with gauze to keep the wires from
getting tangled or pulled off. It is
hard for some children to sit still for
this part of the test. You may be
asked to hold your child until the
gauze is wrapped around your
child’s head. A child life specialist
may be with us to help your child
relax during wire placement. A
neurologist will also see your child
and take part in the evaluation.
ξ Monitoring
A video camera is mounted in the
ceiling of your room. It begins
recording your child’s activity right
away. The EEG technologist
watches your child and the EEG
from another room. Your child may
have an intravenous (IV) line placed
in case IV seizure medicines are
needed. There can be more severe
and frequent seizures. If this
happens, your child’s doctor will
decide the best way to treat these
seizures.
ξ Working Together
When your child feels a seizure
coming on, tell the staff by pressing
a button attached to the EEG fanny
pack. You are also asked to press
this button each time you see an
“event” happening or about to
happen. The nurse call light can also
be pressed to call your nurse. Please
let us know if the event you are
seeing is typical or not. You can talk
to the camera to let us know what
you are seeing. Avoid standing
between your child and the camera
so all of your child’s movements can
be seen. This helps the doctor
review and interpret the results.
Activity Restrictions
Your child needs to stay in the room. This
includes the bed, the area around the bed,
and the bathroom. A TV and radio with
local channels and a DVD player are found
in each room. You may sleep on a cot in
your child’s room. Feel free to use your
child’s bathroom and shower for your needs.
A small light is left on in the room all night
so your child can be seen clearly in the
video. Your child eats all meals in the
room. You may bring your own food or buy
food and bring it back to eat with your child.
When you plan to leave the room, let your
child’s nurse know ahead of time. Plans
will be made for staff to sit with your child.
What time will I be able to leave?
When the test has finished, the wires are
removed. Nursing staff can help remove
glue residue that may still be there after the
wires are removed. The neurology team
needs to see your child before you leave.
You also are given a written discharge
plan by the nurse before you leave.
After the test
Your child’s seizure medicine will be started
again before going home. Before your
discharge or when you get home, schedule a
clinic visit to talk about the test results with
your neurologist. Reports are most often
ready in 2 weeks.
Questions or concerns
If you have any questions, please call (608)
890-6500 and ask to speak to the nurse who
helped with setting up the test and
admission. If you need to reschedule the
test, please call.
If you live out of the area, call 1-800-323-
8942 and ask for the Pediatric Neurology
Clinic.
The Spanish version of this Health Facts for
You is #6559.
Your health care team may have given you this information as part of your care. If so, please use it and call if you
have any questions. If this information was not given to you as part of your care, please check with your doctor. This
is not medical advice. This is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Because each
person’s health needs are different, you should talk with your doctor or others on your health care team when using
this information. If you have an emergency, please call 911. Copyright 5/2016 University of Wisconsin Hospitals
and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Department of Nursing. HF#5481